Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations,

“appropriate certificate” means in relation to United Kingdom ships an appropriate certificate as defined in the Training and Certification Regulations, and in relation to other ships, an appropriate certificate as defined in the STCW Convention;

“authorised person” means a person authorised by the Secretary of State for the purposes of these Regulations;

“company” includes an individual, and in relation to a ship means the owner of the ship or any other organisation or person such as the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the ship from the owner and who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over all the duties and responsibilities imposed on the company by the Regulations annexed to the STCW Convention;

“GT” means gross tons; and the gross tonnage of a ship having alternative gross tonnage shall be the larger of those tonnages; for a ship having its tonnage determined both under Part II and regulation 16 of the Merchant Shipping (Tonnage) Regulations 1982(1) its gross tonnage shall be that determined under regulation 16;

“hazardous cargo” means cargo which is or may be explosive, flammable, toxic, health-threatening or environment-polluting;

“Merchant Shipping Notice” means a Notice described as such and issued by the MSA;

“MSA” means the Marine Safety Agency, an executive agency of the Department of Transport;

“safe manning document” means a document, described as such, issued, in the case of a United Kingdom ship by the Secretary of State, and in the case of any other ship by or on behalf of the government of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly;

“safety committee” means a safety committee set up pursuant to the Merchant Shipping (Safety Officials and Reporting of Accidents and Dangerous Occurrences) Regulations 1982(2);

“sea-going” means going beyond the limits of waters of category A, B, C and D (as categorised in Merchant Shipping Notices No. M1504 and No. M1569);

“STCW Code” means the Seafarers' Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code adopted by the 1995 Conference of Parties to the International Convention on the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978;

“STCW Convention” means the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended on 7th July 1995;

“specified by the Secretary of State” means specified in Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1682;

“Training and Certification Regulations” means the Merchant Shipping (Training and Certification) Regulations 1997(3).

(2) Any reference to the STCW Code, the STCW Convention or a particular Merchant Shipping Notice includes any amendment to that Convention or Notice which the Secretary of State considers relevant from time to time and specifies in a Merchant Shipping Notice.

(3) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:—

(a)a reference to a numbered regulation is a reference to the regulation of that number in these Regulations; and

(b)a reference to a numbered paragraph is a reference to the paragraph of that number in that regulation.

(1)

S.I. 1982/841, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(2)

S.I. 1982/876, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.

(3)

S.I. 1997/348.